Fairy Tale Battle Royale – Vol. 1 (Review)

Kuninaka Aoba goes to school everyday encountering bullies and the people around her that don’t seem to care about it. One day, Aoba notices a contract that states that she will be granted any wish of her desire. The condition being that she has to be take the role of Alice in a fairy tale. Aiba signs the contract and her life changes drastically as she enters a fantasy realm where something dark is growing. The story pulled me in initially as it sounds like a version of Madoka Magica but perhaps more accurately, Magical Girl Site. Although Fairy Tale Battle Royale avoids the fan-service and excessive bloody violence of the former, the first volume isn’t really worth the excitement I had going in. The writing of the first volume makes whatever the true plot is feel like a drag to get there since everything is too vague. The worst part is that the last two chapters are wasted on extreme mediocrity when there should have been an opportunity for more exposition. Other than the great artwork, there’s very little else to remain invested to see where this story goes. Fairy Tale Battle Royale was an extreme disappointment in the first volume but I’m hoping the next installment will prove this new series to be worth reading.